Life is good for Brantley Gilbert. At the CMA Songwriters Series in Nashville last week (Oct. 31), Gilbert showed off his vocal and songwriting prowess alongside a stellar lineup of fellow hit songwriters, including Sugarland‘s Kristian Bush, Bob DiPiero (‘Southern Voice,’ ‘Blue Clear Sky’) and Brett James (‘Cowboy Cassanova,’ ‘Blessed’).

Gilbert performed a string of his hits, including his first smash single, ‘Country Must Be Country Wide,’ and ‘Kick It in the Sticks,’ among others. The country rocker has crisscrossed the country in the past few months on his first headlining tour, which he tells Taste of Country is “everything I thought it would be and a little more.”

As you might have heard, Gilbert has been dating fellow country singer Jana Kramer for a few months. Much to the dismay of his female fans, Gilbert says the pairing is right between them, both musically and personally. The ‘Why Ya Wanna’ singer even accompanied her beau to the CMA Songwriters Series showcase.

“We’re the unlikely couple, but it works,” Gilbert tells Taste of Country. “We actually wrote [together] for the first time the other day. We wrote a pretty cool song,” he reveals of collaborating together professionally. “It turned out pretty well. I’m proud of it.”

Not that the singer will reveal the title of the new tune. “I can’t give away all my secrets!” Gilbert insists, laughing.

He did open up about the inspiration behind his latest single, ‘More Than Miles,’ however, saying the idea stemmed from his own experiences. “In the beginning there was a lot of pressure on me to move to Nashville,” says Gilbert. “I was traveling up here and doing co-writes and things. There was a battle between me — I swore I would never leave Georgia, you know? I was on my way up [to Nashville]. I had some family stuff going on, so I turned around and came back home. It’s telling exactly what happened.”

The singer has stayed true to the song — he even finished a custom-made home in Georgia in July. Though he’s already released several singles from his gold-certified album, ‘Halfway to Heaven,’ Gilbert admits he’s already at work writing songs for his next project.

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